As with every smartphone these days, the BlackBerry Curve 9320 is aimed at social networkers. To this end RIM says the Curve 9320 is blessed with good battery life and connectivity, as well as 'social-centric' features that include a dedicated button for BlackBerry's popular BBM instant messaging service.

The Curve 9320 retails SIM-free for around £150, and costs from around £10 a month on contract. Given its feature set, this makes it a value proposition: just don't expect an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S for a fraction of the price - with only a single-core 806MHz processor the Curve 9320 is very much on the budget end of the scale. See also: Group test: what's the best smartphone?

BlackBerry Curve 9320: build and design

It's plasticky and light-weight, but the BlackBerry Curve 9320 feels well put together. It's squat shape with shiny curved back feels comfortable in the palm of your hand. All the edges are, well, curved and at 60x109x12.7mm it's thicker than the Curve 9360, but small and thin for a smartphone. The Curve 9320 weighs just 103g, which again isn't the lightest for a BlackBerry phone, but is still on the light side for a full-featured handset.

You'll know the Curve 9320 is a budget smartphone when you first fire up the screen. If you're used to iPhone, Nokia Lumia or Samsung Galaxy levels of loveliness, the 9320's 164ppi display will appear absurdly small and old fashioned. But those are unfair comparisons: this phone costs a fraction of what the aforementioned handsets do, and its 2.4in, 320x240 display is as good as it needs to be. Just don't start prodding at it: the Curve 9320 eschews a touchscreen in favour of the traditional BlackBerry hardware qwerty keyboard.

This keyboard will feel familiar to BlackBerry fans, and cripplingly ineffecient to those more used to onscreen touchscreen keyboards that offer haptic feedback. The keys are tiny, raised plastic buttons that click when pushed. Above the keyboard is a row of five buttons, the middle of which is a trackpad which doubles as an enter key for navigating around the Curve 9320. The other keys are call, menu, back one step, and hang up, the latter of which doubles as the on/off switch. Like the qwerty keys, these buttons need a push to register a click.

On the left of the Curve 9320 is the dedicated BBM button, which will be useful to the vast numbers of people who swear by BlackBerry's Messenger service. In our clumsy hands, however, it meant we kept unintentionally launching BBM. On the righthand side are the volume buttons, as well as an odd little shortcut button: by default it fires up the camera, but you can assign other functions as you see fit.

There's only 512MB of onboard storage, but you have the opportunity to add in up to another 32GB via a MicroSD card. You'll want to.

BlackBerry Curve 9320: connectivity

The Curve offers all the basics you'd expect from a modern smartphone: Wi-Fi is supported up the wireless N, and you get HSDPA/HSUPA 3G cellular connectivity, as well as GPS and Bluetooth, and the bonus of an FM radio. By defualt you can also broadcast your 3G connection as a wireless hotspot (although this may quickly eat up your data allowance).

BlackBerry Curve 9320: battery life

BlackBerry has seen fit to equip the Curve 9320 with a healthy 5.3Wh power pack. Battery life is noticeably good, the best we've come across for a 3G device. The Curve sails past the usual acid test for a smartphone: a full day of intensive use. In fact, but using it intermittently for email and web browsing and the occasional calls we could comfortably get through a couple of days. Kudos to RIM for that.

BlackBerry Curve 9320: camera

The Curve 9320's camera sits around the back of the device. You may quickly decide that this is exactly where it should stay: the Curve 9320 is unlikely to replace your standalone point and shoot camera.

The Curve 9320's camera has a 3.2Mp sensor and an LED flash. Perversely, the paucity of the Curve's display means that images taken on the phone don't look too bad on its screen, or at least no worse than all images on such a small screen. There's an image stabilisation function, but it's barely worth mentioning (it barely works).

Images aren't bad exactly, just a little flat and lacking in detail:

NEXT PAGE: BlackBerry Curve 9320 calling, messaging and internet; plus the OS and media player >>

Is it possible to get beyond the poor web browsing experience and the generally dated feel of the Curve's display, OS and camera? Well, yes: just look at the price. The BlackBerry Curve 9320 is not for those who demand the latest and the best, but it is well put together, offers a decent feature set and is priced to shift. If you want a smartphone principally as a communications device, and multimedia and style are less important to you, the BlackBerry Curve 9320 will offer everything you need at a good price.

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 is RIM's latest budget smartphone. It should come with a low price and its battery will last you over a full day, but it offers no real upgrade over previous model Curve devices.

The BlackBerry Curve 8900 from Research in Motion is available on O2, and is the 'thinnest and lightest' BlackBerry smartphone to date.

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Comments

lex said: Can it screenshot

Laurence Harvey said: Hi all Ever wondered which phone to go for withoutspending a small fortune and ending up with something that is the size of abrick or thats as much use as a canoe with a a handbrake Well try thisBlackberry Curve 9320 because for simple texting a great fast email system good YES good battery life 1450mah battery which for a phone this size is verygood indeed approx 2 days depending on use maybe more good loud speaker faces out through the bottom of the phone and not the back notification led foremailstext etc custom ring notification tones for each contactemailtextetc avaragegood camera 32meg with flash fits great in the pocket and issimply a good all round phone to use without needing a flippin degree inscience on how to use it lol Weve gone through so many mobile phones testingetc etc but the curve 9320 is one of the best value for money phones to date just 9900 on o2 PAYG sim and that price is just 9900 only so no vat no delivery charge and no top up sim to buy either o2 website Hope thisreview has been helpfull and thanks for reading it from all MaxsoundCarAudioUk

guest said: you cantits not touch screen

Chelseahanson said: How do you get the touch screen activated

anonymous said: My volume button has gone to increase the sound does anyone know how to fix it

Ashraf Uddin82 said: This is a good phone and a huge improvement compared to its younger models if RIM can keep this up then they will have a great future financially if not then sorry it was nice knowing you

Notme said: Actually the browsing is not that bad at all plus it feels less like a kids phone than most android touchscreens The bold is pretty expensive too and this is a good substitute

Nichan said: Groups-Schedule of Euro 2012 on your Blackberry Get it nowskinforgadgetblogspotcom

ashodgkin said: Nice to see a positive review of a BB product for a change The whole industry seems to have had a downer on them since their problems began a few months back This company has its back against the wall and it would be a shame to see them disappear The industry needs diversity to keep competition and innovation alive RIM have always ploughed their own furrow in terms of their products but they have lost their position as the darlings of the business community If a cheap and cheerful addition to their range helps to keep the wolf from the door while waiting for BB10 products to arrive it can only be a positive for them and the industry as a whole Keep the faith